Today the Blue Jays Triple-A Affiliate the Buffalo Bisons unveiled their new logo and announced their new manager Tuesday. The news release is below:

With the start of a new era of Bisons baseball in downtown Buffalo, the team today unveiled an exciting new primary team logo, designed by ADPRO Sports of Buffalo, that will carry the club into the next 25-years at Coca-Cola Field.

After just completing the first quarter-century of baseball at Coca-Cola Field, the Bisons’ new team crest represents a modern look to a fan-favorite logo from the first few seasons at the ballpark. The design includes the return of a red-white-blue color scheme as well as a Buster figure gearing up to hit another home run.

“It was important for us to reestablish our own team identity with our new logo. Our fans have continued to express their fondness of the red, white and blue logo from the late ’80s and early ’90s at the ballpark. We feel this new logo not only pays tribute to that history but gives the team an exciting new look for the future,” said Mike Buczkowski, Vice President/General Manager of the Bisons.

New Bisons team apparel including t-shirts, caps, and hooded sweatshirts are now available exclusively at the Batter’s Box Gift Shop and online at Bisons.com. The team is expected to unveil their new home, road and alternative jerseys and official on-field cap for the 2013 season in January.

The new Bisons logo will feature scarlet red as its primary color with reflex blue and white accents, giving the club their own unique color scheme. The colors are an updated version of the popular red and navy blue the team used for the first 10 years at Coca-Cola Field. The team has also returned the “hitting Buster” from past logos and updated the script “Bisons” from the 1980s to block lettering. Along with an exciting new logo, the new symmetrical look gives the team great flexibility in marketing and promotional material.

Logo History
The new primary logo is the fourth logo for the Bisons since the team began play at Coca-Cola Field. From 1988-1997, the club used a red, white and blue theme with a hitting Buster portrayed on the right side of the word “Bisons” or the letter “B.” From 1998-2008, the team used a “sliding Buster” under the word “Bisons” in a green-red-gold color combo. For the past four seasons, the Bisons adopted a blue and orange theme with a more atomically correct bison charging out of the city landscape.

There were minor alterations to the four main logo themes during their years of use.

Blue Jays name Brown Bisons Manager

The Buffalo Bisons today announced that the Toronto Blue Jays have selected MARTY BROWN as the Bisons’ manager for the 2013 season. Brown returns to Buffalo, where he managed the Herd for three seasons, 2003-2005, and won the 2004 International League Governors’ Cup Championship.

In his second tenure with the club, Brown will serve as the 18th manager in the Bisons’ modern era. His coaching staff will be announced at a later time.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Marty Brown back to Buffalo to lead the Bisons into this exciting new era as the Triple-A Affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays,” said Mike Buczkowski, Vice President/General Manager of the Bisons. “Marty is a proven winner, having already brought home a championship to the fans of Buffalo, and his passion for the game really resonates with Bisons fans.”

“Marty Brown is a veteran baseball man who brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the dugout. He has the ability to teach the game and to get the most out of his players. Marty has enjoyed great success as a minor league manager and we are delighted that he will be managing the Bisons in 2013,” said Charlie Wilson, Director of Minor League Operations for the Blue Jays.

Brown, 48, led the Bisons to three consecutive winning seasons as manager from 2003-2005 and ranks third in the team’s modern era with 238 wins (238-193, .552 winning pct). After a 73-70 campaign in 2003, he was named International League Manager of the Year and Baseball America’s Minor League Manager of the Year for guiding the Herd to an 83-61 record in 2004. The ’04 Bisons won the team’s sixth IL Governors’ Cup and scored more runs (848) than any IL club since 1950.

In 2005, Brown won his second consecutive IL North Division title with an 82-62 record. The Bisons lost to the Indianapolis Indians in the IL Semi-Finals, their last appearance in the post season.

The 2013 season will be Brown’s 17th year as a manager after beginning his career in 1997 with short-season Class-A Erie of the Pittsburgh Pirates chain. He has a 783-719 record and a .521 winning percentage in affiliation baseball in America. He also spent five seasons managing in Japan. After his first tenure in Buffalo, Brown managed the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of Japan’s Central League from 2006-2009. He spent the 2010 season at the helm of the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Japan Pacific League.

Brown has spent the past two seasons as the manager of the Blue Jay’s Triple-A club in Las Vegas (Pacific Coast League). In 2012, the 51s went 79-64 and finished in second place in the PCL’s Pacific Southern Division. He also managed the PCL’s All-Star team to a 3-0 victory over the International League in the 25th Annual Triple-A All-Star Game played at Coca-Cola Field in Buffalo, NY.

Brown began his professional playing career in 1985 when selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the 12th round of the Major League Baseball Draft. He made his Major League debut in 1988 and appeared in 35 games over two seasons with the Reds (1988-89) and one with Baltimore (1990), who selected him in the Rule 5 Draft in 1989. He recorded his first Major League hit on Sept. 25, 1988 against Atlanta. He then played in Japan for three seasons with Hiroshima Toyo Carp (1992-94) before playing for Triple-A Oklahoma City in 1995. He played eight seasons in the minor leagues and appeared in 814 career games and batted .274 (778-for-2,840) with 85 home runs and 409 RBI.

I grew up playing baseball and followed the Blue Jays from an early age. I used to rock a Toronto Star season pass 40 plus times a year, but those days are over… I’ve been a soldier for over 5 years, which limits my ability to attend as many games as I’d like.